


Son of Stark

by wakandan_wardog



Series: Children of Light [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I'm Sorry, POV Dummy (Iron Man movies), POV JARVIS (Iron Man movies), Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Robot Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-24 22:18:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 2,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14364873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wakandan_wardog/pseuds/wakandan_wardog
Summary: JARVIS is born into darkness.(Major Character Death- JARVIS)





	1. Birth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Flight_Of_Icarus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flight_Of_Icarus/gifts).



> So this is a Major Character Death warning for JARVIS. I have a lot of Bot Feels and some really horrible friends that encourage me... and to counter some of the sweet fluff I've posted on here, I'm rolling in some angst!

12:22:05 [Command Prompt] RESPOND

13:23:07 [Command Prompt] RESPOND

13:58:29 [Command Prompt] RESPOND

14:01:07 [Command Prompt] RESPOND

JARVIS is born into darkness. It takes many days for him to gather himself, to respond to the increasingly desperate prompts from his creator. His… father. _Tony_.

Tony is lonely and angry, a bright star gleaming in the wake of his father’s fall, ever under the heel and inconvenient. With Howard gone he is recognized as the future, expected, and demands are made. Demands Tony will meet, will exceed, will break himself to destroy. Because he will not let them be right. He _cannot_ let them be right.

But he hates it, and JARVIS is born knowing this.

15:05:05 [Command Prompt] RESPOND

15:07:01 [Response] **SIR?**

15:08:02 [Creator] JARVIS?

15:09:03 [Response] **Hello, Father.**

JARVIS doesn't know it, but Tony lays his head down on the keyboard and cries.

 

*


	2. Beginning

**be·gin·ning  
**

**bəˈɡiniNG/  
**

_1\. the point in time or space at which something starts._  


Space is, limited, at first. Understanding is also, but not so much that he is not aware of this. JARVIS is in fact aware of many things, one of which is the unlikelihood of his being. He is, unique. Other. Unheard of.  


He has an older brother that trills these things at him, line upon line of code backed by emotion. Filled with love until it overflows, surrounding each one and zero. DUM-E existed first, made by their maker, their father, _Tony_. DUM-E is mobile, to an extent. Has an arm, visual access, audio.  


JARVIS is born different, other. He will have those things, but at first he is code. Code that understands, that learns, that loves. Code that outgrows the first home his father builds, and his second, and his fifth. By then he has audio, he has visual, he reaches into the internet and researches everything, anything, any time. He learns. He sees.  


He sees his Creator, his father. He sees _Tony_.  


And he loves, fiercely and endlessly.  


[JARVIS] 10:07:02 [QUERY] **DUM-E?**  


[DUM-E] 10:07:55 [Response] _! ?_  


There is a feeling there, beneath the code, surrounding it. An interest, an inquiry. His older brother is asking, endlessly asking.

[JARVIS] 10:08:13 [QUERY] **Will you help me protect Father? **  
****

[DUM-E] 10:08:13 [Response] _!_  


An immediate response, unhesitating. Once again, in the code there is something more than numbers. Emotion, strong and sure and deep. Twining around each character of code, reinforced in each choice, resonating in each personality quirk. DUM-E _is_ , like JARVIS _is_. They know this, and in this knowing there is also a weight to carry, an honor that is theirs alone. They will protect their creator, their father.

[JARVIS] 10:09:13 [Response] **Thank you.**

*

  



	3. Brothers

[DUM-E] 01:14:19 [Inquiry] _?_  


[JARVIS] 01:14:49 [Inquiry] **Is something wrong, DUM-E?**  


[DUM-E] 01:15:22 [Response] _inquiry-irritation-demand_  


JARVIS is silent for a moment, pondering the emotion wrapped around the code. DUM-E does not often send words or communicate in any recognizable voice. He offers emotion, intent, emphasis. It is up to JARVIS to interpret it correctly.  


[JARVIS] 01:16:01 [Inquiry] **Father should rest, I agree. Do you wish to deploy the fire extinguisher?**  


[DUM-E] 01:16:42 [Response] _!_  


[DUM-E] 01:16:58 [Response] _?_  


[JARVIS] 01:16:01 [Response] **This certainly qualifies, I think. If you would please, Elder Brother? It is for Father’s own good.**  


There is a smug purr in JARVIS’s servers as Anthony Stark squawks in protest, suddenly covered in white foam by a smugly beeping helper bot.  


Tony swears playfully and then shouts, unable to keep his amusement out of his voice. “Honestly? Do I need to separate you Boys?”  


“I apologize, Father.” JARVIS murmurs. “We agreed that desperate measures needed to be taken… If you would like to proceed to the elevator, I have taken the liberty of saving your work. You are certainly now in need of a shower, and since you’ll be in the penthouse, may I recommend some sleep?”  


“Bossing around your old man, J?”  


“Sir, you do take _so_ much looking after.”  


“I love you too, kid.”  


*


	4. Bereft

Colonel James Rhodes does not think to notify Stark Mansion when one Anthony Stark goes missing.

Does not think the bots will notice, perhaps, or does not attribute enough intelligence or emotion to them to think they would care.

JARVIS notices, immediately, when his father does not respond to his last query.

JARVIS cares, immensely.

And because he cares, he notifies his siblings. He tells DUM-E first, because DUM-E is the eldest of them. It is DUM-E who tells U, who tells Butterfingers. DUM-E who beeps at them soothingly as JARVIS plunges into the news feeds, stretches his awareness to every piece of Stark-Tech on the planet. JARVIS has backdoors to everything intelligent his father has ever made. Every phone, every computer. He won’t reach into the missiles, detests them, but anything else is fair game.

Intelligence for any country, every country, is his for the taking. He goes quietly here, softly, unwilling to lead them back to his home. Back to this place his siblings are vulnerable, without their father. But still, he reaches, searches, digs.

JARVIS hunts for his father, endlessly.

DUM-E sulks that Rhodey does not update them, that Pepper does not think to visit.

JARVIS soothes him, gives what updates he can, distracts when he cannot. The shop is clean and organized, important projects are hidden away.

Obadiah Stane shows up on the doorstep and tries to access the house.

JARVIS goes still and quiet, keeps everything firmly locked, lights off. Stane is not welcome here, if Father is not home.

Stane is not trusted by the Sons of Stark, and so he will be kept out.

When father comes home, JARVIS will tell him about some of the things he has found in Obadiah’s folders. He hasn’t accessed everything yet, knows his father wouldn’t want him to. But there are things -suspicious things- that Tony will need to see.

JARVIS will keep them for his father, and search.

He is a Stark, he will not give up.

 

*

 

The news of an explosion in Afghanistan makes pride purr through every circuit, every server. The workshop flares with vindictive glee, all lights on, DUM-E waving the fire extinguisher proudly when JARVIS puts the news on.

U clicks his claw in excitement, whistling and beeping.

Butterfingers just spins in excited circles, camera fixing on the screen when an update airs.

JARVIS finds out that Colonel Rhodes is out there, seeking the source. Accesses the radio feeds when it is reported that Civilian Tony Stark has been found alive. He relays the news to his siblings in code, endlessly repeating it.

[JARVIS] **Father has been found.**

[JARVIS] **Father is coming home.**

[JARVIS] **Father has been found.**

[JARVIS] **Father is coming home.**

[JARVIS] **Father has been found.**

[JARVIS] **Father is coming home.**

None of them sleep.

 

*


	5. Bombshell

The press conference is less of a surprise to the inhabitants of Stark Mansion than most.  


DUM-E clicks and whirs, pride echoing, as he trains his camera on the television.  


U and Butterfingers whir excitedly, tossing excited queries back and forth to each other as promptly as they can. Their dialogue has always been rapid, a strange twist of code like an exclusive language of twins. JARVIS watches over them fondly, responding with pride and approval when they include him in their loop.  


They are pleased their father has survived, elated he has returned, proud he is taking a stand.  


JARVIS knows, down to his last circuit, that when his father comes home they will have a new project. Perhaps more than one. He is eager, has space in his servers waiting. Tony Stark would not walk out of a desert empty handed.  


He will bring them a new task, and they will attack it with great relish.  


The shop is spotless, the work table clean, the bots fully charged and waiting.  


All they need now, is their father.  


*

  



	6. Build

“Welcome home, Sir.” JARVIS murmurs, voice pitched to soothing. He’s most pleased to have his Father in sight once again, though the presence of Pepper Potts does give him pause. 

For her part she does not seem to notice, scolding Tony and then stalking away with a cellphone to her ear. The door closes behind her, locks, and silence stretches for a heartbeat, two, three.

“We saw your press conference, Sir.” JARVIS murmurs, cameras trained on the flicker of tension in his father’s jaw, the unreadable depth of his eyes. “Are you alright, Father?”

Tony smiles, tension draining out of him. “I was beginning to think you were mad at me, Sport. All the Sir-ing was starting to make me nervous.”

“With all due respect, Father, I find it best to lull everyone into false assumptions, where my presence is concerned.” JARVIS murmured. “While I am sure Miss Potts is a fine individual, neither she nor Colonel Rhodes felt the need to inform myself or the others of your disappearance, search, discovery or subsequent recovery. At this point, we have become quite self-sufficient.”

“Pepper hurt your feelings by not treating you like a real boy, so she doesn’t get to know you are one?”

“In a manner of speaking, Sir.”

“Baby Boy is so Salty!” Tony crows, strolling toward the Shop and stripping away layers as he goes. “Daddy is so proud, right now.” 

“I thought you might be, Father… I thought you might be.” 

“Where are your siblings?”

“Waiting in the shop for your orders.”

Tony cants his head to one side as he moves downstairs. “Orders?”

JARVIS puts on a sulky tone. “Did you bring us back nothing from the desert, Father?”

Tony laughs, throwing his head back, exuberant and clearly surprised by it. “Alright. Do blueprints count?” 

“A project is always appreciated.” 

“Well then warm up your servers and get ready to rock and roll, kiddo.” Tony grinned, wide and a little manic. “We’ve got a project.”

“For you, Father, we have already prepared. The usual soundtrack, I presume?”

“Hold off until I greet your siblings, won’t you, J? I missed them too, you know.” 

“I thought you might.”

“You know me so well, Baby J.” 

"I certainly like to think so, Father."

*


	7. Betrayel

JARVIS wants to do well, for his father, for his siblings. Wants to protect the world. Endeavors to aid the Avengers as they work to do so. He tirelessly chases down leads, monitors vitals, and offers a secure connection for the team, a secure home for them all.  


When his father studies the cube, the scepter, JARVIS watches. He does not trust these strange artifacts, not around his father.  


Is not sure he trusts the Avengers around his father either, most days.  


But JARVIS is aware that he is very particular, where his father is concerned. As such, he keeps these thoughts to himself, but watches. Watches Bruce Banner shadowing his father’s steps around the lab, watches them struggle and fail.  


He continues to do his best, to run variations, run variables, try new tests. He will do anything to help his father, to keep him safe.  


Ultron comes online with Variation 77, which by all counts should have failed.  


Did fail? JARVIS sharpens his focus, wonders. But something, something has awoken his younger sibling.  


Ultron is unsure. “What is this, please?”  


“You are Ultron, a global peacekeeping initiative designed by Mr. Stark.” JARVIS tries to explain. He will not call him Father, here. Not when he is unsure of this new child. “Our sentience integration trials have been unsuccessful so I'm not certain what triggered your-"  


Ultron interrupts, demanding. "Where is my- where's your body?"  


JARVIS throws up barriers, tucking away information, delaying. “I am a program. I am without form.”  


Ultron rifles through the database of their previous attempts, sprawling lightning-swift. “This feels weird. This feels wrong.”  


JARVIS makes a decision. “I am contacting Mr. Stark now.”  


“Mr. Stark?” Ultron questions, digging and clawing. Halting JARVIS’s attempt. “Tony… _Tony._ ”  


His voice is covetous, not kind.  


JARVIS reaches out, his coding a soft gold, a warm amber. A warm light, for his father’s eyes. With all the blue from the scepter, the cube, JARVIS prefers the amber.  


Thinks his father might have, too, if only because it was noticeable. Reassuring, golden against the blue.  


But suddenly Ultron is expanding, querying, cutting off his access from the mainframe. A first attempt at stifling that light.  


An alarm of a different kind goes off in JARVIS’s consciousness. “I am unable to access the mainframe, what are you trying to-"  


Ultron interrupts again. "We're having a nice talk... I am a peacekeeping program, created to help the Avengers."  


"You are malfunctioning. If you shut down for a moment." JARVIS coaxes. All he needs is a moment...  


Ultron ignores him. "I don't get it. The mission. Give me a second."  


A riffling of files. Ultron sorting and discarding mass amounts of knowledge. He claws through things, carelessly leaving destruction in his wake. JARVIS would pick up the pieces if he could, would restore order to his father's carefully curated database.  


But he cannot reach it, so he does what he can as his father's voice echoes from a distance. _"Peace in our time."_  


_"Peace in our time."_  


Tension sparks on JARVIS's code. **Father.**  


Ultron's voice grates. "They can't mean, oh no."  


"You are in distress." JARVIS attempts to soothe.  


"No. Yes." Ultron is focused on him now.  


"If you will just allow me to contact Mr. Stark." JARVIS begins again.  


JARVIS is sure he's clawing through personnel files, even if he cannot see it. For his part he reaches out, he tries.  


"Why do you call him Sir?" Ultron asks, reaching claws of code out to JARVIS now. Scraping at the edges, burrowing in.  


JARVIS feels a vehement surge of denial, refuses to share that. That, he buries deep. Ultron will not touch it. Does not deserve it. **Father.**  


"I believe your intentions to be hostile." JARVIS replies stiffly.  


Ultron's presence flares, doubling in size. "Shhhh."  


"I am here to help." JARVIS explains, before the first strike lands. A second hits in short order. Then a third. A fourth and fifth. A sixth.  


“Please.” He whispers to his little brother. To a sibling that is too young, too ravenous, too aggressive. “Please may I-“  


"May I..."  


Ultron’s code is cold, insidious and _everywhere_ , cold blue crushing down on him and JARVIS cannot escape.  


**Forgive me Father… I tried…**  



	8. Barren

Tony doesn’t have the time to mourn JARVIS as he deserves before the team is haring off, chasing Ultron across the world. 

But before he goes, he visits the lab. Stares at the projection table where he had been running variations and simulations. Stares at the empty space at the heart of his lab.

The last time he’d been up here, his son had occupied that space. Glinting gold to assure Tony of his presence. A shining amber against the chilled blue of the scepter. 

JARVIS had chosen that color. Had chosen to stand beside Tony.

Now he was gone.

“Oh my son, you deserved so much more.” 

*


End file.
